We've planted some bananas in our yard in Nhulunbuy. In Milingimbi, we left before we saw the fruit of the trees. Hopefully we'll see some fruit this time. According to the man at the nursery, these were the last banana plants for sale in all of the NT until October. This because of a destruction order that came out from the government to destroy all banana plants in large areas of the Northern Territory. Apparently there is a disease they are trying to get rid of. We feel sorry for the banana growers.

We have boarded the plane from Darwin to Gove in Arnhem Land. The flight takes over an hour in the airliner with seating for 76 passengers. As usual most of the passengers are Caucasian, with one or two Aboriginals on board. The Caucasian people are all connected to the bauxite mine located at the Gove peninsula.

We've arrived in the land of 1 hectare plots, driving on the wrong side of the road and walking barefoot all day: Darwin, Australia. We've been given this amazing house for a few days to enjoy a small break in between furlough and back to the mission field. The house is on a 2 hectare plot (like all the houses in the wide area) and is owned by ex-MAF staff who realized the need for people to get away from Arnhem Land from time to time. It has a beautiful garden to relax, a small spa, which is great for the kids, and even a car to use.

We find it hard to imagine, but in a few days we'll set foot on Dutch soil! It'll be quite a shock to go from 30°C to 10°C ! Thankfully we have a while to acclimatise before the real winter sets in. It will be great to see family and friends again! Especially for our boys, as the last time that grandpa and grandma saw them Noah was 3yo and Judah 9 months. Noah is now 5.5 and Judah 3yo! We'll be in The Netherlands from end of October until January, to enable us to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve with family and friends. It has been six years since we last did that.